


Losing Church

by Minera



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-14
Updated: 2014-03-14
Packaged: 2018-01-15 17:06:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1312597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minera/pseuds/Minera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caboose and Church's friendship over the years has been rudely interrupted the multiple times Church has disappeared, been deleted or been killed by Caboose himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Losing Church

The first time _Caboose_ had lost Church, he hadn't known him for very long. Caboose had only arrived at the Blue Team base a couple of days previously. Or, at least he thought it was a couple of days- the immobile sun doesn't help with telling the time. Caboose knew Church was going to be a great friend, and strived to make Church see that too, but the light blue soldier usually ignored him. Caboose's attempt to make Church his best friend was rudely interrupted by his untimely death. Caboose could cope, though. It wasn't  _that_ bad, right? 

Caboose had been waiting for the Freelancer guy that was being sent to help them. 

**And Church came back.**

**Church had come back. The dark blue soldier who had been desperately in-friend-love with the total jerk of a ghost could barely contain his happiness. His best friend came back! For him!**

* * *

 

"Guys, I hate to interrupt, but... zero seconds."

Caboose barely caught that last word over the ringing and searing pain in his head. He was blinded by the white light from the explosion. When his vision returned, all that could be seen were black and white swirls. His friends slowly faded into view. All his friends were there.

All, except one.

_'Can that be right?'_ Caboose thought.  
He checked again, straining his eyes at the figures zooming around him.   
  
 _'Lightish-red; that's Captain Butterscotch... Aqua- no, lightish-green... no, teal? Tucker... Sergeant man!'_  
His eyes followed an orange streak flying past.  _'Yellow! That's Griff, with two 'f's...'_  
  
  
He counted the blurs of colour tumbling around him, coming to the same conclusion as before.  
No light-blue clad soldier.  
No Church.

**But even then, after being blown up, Church had come back. He came back to save his friends, like he tried to the last time. He had come back... for _them._**

* * *

 

"Relocation orders? Are we going home?" The hopeful voice of the aqua-bluish-green-teal soldier rang through the halls.  
  
"What?" Church said, poking his head out of his room to see Tucker holding a file.  
  
"Hey Church, here's yours!" Tucker said, throwing a file at him.  
Church caught it with his outstretched arm, opened it and peeked at the pages inside.  
  
"Where are you going, Tucker, Caboose?" He asked.  
  
"I am- the fuck? How do you pronounce that? Uhh, some place with sa-" Tucker started.  
  
"I'm going to Rrrr... Ruuhhh... Reehhh...?" Caboose interrupted.   
  
"Rat's Nest," Tucker finished for him, looking at Caboose's relocation orders.  
  
Church was forced to duck out of the way as Caboose launched himself upon Church in an attempt to see his file.  
  
"Woah, woah, hey, how about we, uhh..." Church said frantically.  
"It's a game of hide and seek! And the only way I can win... Is... If I die without ever seeing you again!" He said, thinking fast while dodging Caboose's frequent endeavours to grab the report from hid hands.  
  
"So, I guess this is goodbye?" Tucker said.  
  
"We've still got to pack, Tucker, so we'll save the tear-jerking farewells for later," Church laughed.  
  
It had been a week since the team clad in varying shades of blue had received their relocation orders. They had packed up every scrap they owned away, and were waiting for the pelicans to relocate them. Three small, black dots could be seen moving towards them from the horizon. The three boys turned to each other. A week of packing and waiting had gone by in anticipation for this moment, yet all the soldiers could feel was dread.  
The ships seemed to speed through the sky faster than they could imagine, yet it all seemed in slow-motion.  
  
Just before boarding his relocation ship, Church turned to the other two.  
  
"Bye," Church said quietly, breaking the silence that had gone on for days.  
  
"Well, bye, I guess. It's been..." Tucker struggled to find a word, "eventful," he ended, jokingly saluting.  
  
"Bye Tucker, see you, Church!" Caboose said cheerfully.  _'I'm so going to win!'_ He thought.  
  
Church waved to the two without saying another word, and disappeared into the pelican.  
  
 **He had returned then, too. Or, rather, Caboose found him. Caboose kept his promise. He'd won.**  
 ** _'He can't hide from me. We'll always find each other. I know we will.'_**

* * *

 

"Caboose! Move it, or we're leaving you!" He heard Grif's strangled cry, as the Red's warthog skidded to a halt. Caboose glanced one last time at his friend's body, lying motionless in the dirt.  
  
 _'This can't be happening. Not again.'_

Caboose couldn't believe it. Church had left him. Again.  
Caboose started the car up again, but swerved sharply around some rocks, stopping him from driving steadily after that. He heard the wheels screeching and straining against the ground. The engine revved, racing out of control.  
  
"Here comes the pulse, don't stop!" Simmons shouted.  
  
"Ah, shit, stalled!" Grif groaned loudly. The Red's car jolted to a stop.  
  
"Go, go, go!" Sarge said, gruffly.  
  
"Get Epsilon out of here, don't worry about us!" Grif said.  
  
"Okay! I'm scared!" Caboose shouted, losing his grip on the steering wheel.  
  
"Watch where you're going!" Simmons yelled.

"No!" Grif shouted.  
  
Those were the last words Caboose heard, before his vehicle swerved off the cliff, plunging them both into darkness.  
  
Vision returned slowly to the blue soldier, as he stirred awake. He lay still, trying, and failing, to get up. Caboose suddenly curled into the foetal position, as his memories flooded back into his mind. _'My memories didn't return that quickly last time I crashed a car...'_  Caboose looked around the unfamiliar place, slightly straightening his position. The ruined and burning warthog was only several feet away, keeping Caboose warm. There was a purring-like noise emitting from something nearby. Caboose's eyes were drawn to the purple AI unit he had been rushing away from the facility. He painfully extended his arm to curl it around the Epsilon unit. He was instantly calmed as he drew his arm back in and brought the unit up to his chest. It trilled softly. Caboose couldn't help falling asleep. The purring of the Epsilon unit kept him content, as he slipped into unconsciousness. Epsilon tried its best to keep Caboose's nightmares at bay.

**He still slept with the Epsilon unit on his bedside table every night. He didn't know it, but it was the only connection to his lightly armoured friend in the Valhalla base, and the only way for him to sleep without being riddled by nightmares.**

* * *

 

 "Remember what Delta always said?"  
  
"Memory is the key," Caboose automatically answered.  
  
"Well, you're in charge of remembering me. Don't let Tucker help. He'll just fuck it up," Church smiled, trying to make Caboose laugh. "Bye, buddy," He said.  
  
 _'No.'_ His physical body fell, leaving an identical transparent one standing there. He stepped towards the capture unit that had been used on Tex moments previously.  _'_  
No. Not again! This can't be happening...'  
He faded away.  
 _'...again.'_  
  
Sarge arrived behind Caboose.  
"What's going on here?" He asked.  
  
"Church went in, he's going to find her," Caboose heard himself answer, unaware he had opened his mouth to talk.  
  
"Hmm... This unit looks bad. Let me see what I can do to stabilise it," Simmons said, kneeling down to examine the unit.   
Caboose heard Sarge say something, but all his attention was drawn to the Epsilon unit and Simmons beside it.  
  
"Oh no!" Simmons gasped.  
  
"What? What?" Caboose asked, being pulled back to reality.   
  
"It's only going to be open for a few more seconds. After that, he'll be trapped!"  
  
"Come on, Church. You can do it. Can you hear me? You can- run towards my voice!" Caboose pleaded, his voice rising along with his panic.  
  
"It's shutting down! I can't stop it!" Simmons said, helplessly.   
  
The unit's lights faded. The humming stopped.  
  
"Caboose... I'm sorry," Simmons said, bowing his head.

 

"Church?"

* * *

 

 

"Hey Caboose, you find Church?" Tucker shouted.  
  
"Nah, I didn't find him," Caboose said.

"Well, where do you think he is?"

"I don't know," Caboose said, thoughtfully.

He knew he didn't have to go looking for him this time.

"Somewhere."

Because they'd always find each other, anyway. For better, or for worse.

 

"He's just not here right now."

 

 

 

 


End file.
